


Cinnamon apple winter nights

by birman



Category: VIXX
Genre: M/M, fluff!, vixx - au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 09:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20079709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birman/pseuds/birman
Summary: please note: this is an old fic I had uploaded here on ao3 some time ago under the pseud myridiel, and then taken down once I had basically left the vixx/kpop fandom and was not longer interested in keeping them up.I’m re-uploading all my vixx fics because… I don’t know, someone might feel like reading them I guess? lol, anyway have fun if you do ;)note 2:written for the 2015 Vixx Secret Santa on aff





	Cinnamon apple winter nights

**Author's Note:**

> please note: this is an old fic I had uploaded here on ao3 some time ago under the pseud myridiel, and then taken down once I had basically left the vixx/kpop fandom and was not longer interested in keeping them up.   
I’m re-uploading all my vixx fics because… I don’t know, someone might feel like reading them I guess? lol, anyway have fun if you do ;)
> 
> **note 2:** written for the 2015 Vixx Secret Santa on aff

“So, have you talked to him yet?”

Sanghyuk stole a glance at his best friend Sungjae and went back to arranging candy canes on the sweets booth they both were working on that evening.  
“Who?” he replied, feigning ignorance.  
Sungjae huffed, annoyed: “You know very well who I’m talking about. Hongbin-hyung? The one you’ve been pining after since we started working here?”  
“I’m… I’m not pining after anyone.” Sanghyuk stuttered.  
“Riiiiight…” Sungjae grinned, but decided to drop the topic for the moment.

Sanghyuk sighed and put the remainder of the candy canes back into the box.  
He’d been working at a Christmas-themed park as a seasonal job for a month now, and he quite liked the lively atmosphere, even if he was forced to wear ugly sweaters and ate way too many candies after his shifts were done.

One of his and Sungjae’s tasks was also to replenish the many candy booths scattered throughout the park.  
“We need more chocolates.” Sungjae told him as he handed him his own candy cane box as well, piling it on top of Sanghyuk’s.  
“Yeah, I’ll go get them. I’ll be right back.”  
“Yessir!”

Sanghyuk swatted Sungjae’s arm with a smile and walked back to the warehouse.  
He emerged from it whistling along to a Christmas song that was currently playing on the park speakers and carrying a few small boxes of snowmen-shaped chocolates.

“Hyuk-ah? Hey!”  
Sanghyuk’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of the voice calling him, and he turned around, smiling: “Hey hyung. You’re late.”  
Hongbin trotted by his side, taking a couple of the boxes in his hands. He grimaced as he gave Sanghyuk an imploring look: “Yeah, I know. Please don’t tell the manager, ok?”  
“Don’t worry about it.” he chuckled.  
_As if I could ever tell on you…_ Sanghyuk thought as they walked together.

They made it back to the booth where Sungjae was waiting for them with a smug grin on his face: “You’re finally back.” he told Sanghyuk. “And with Hongbin-hyung as well…”  
Sanghyuk just glared at Sungjae from over Hongbin’s shoulder: “Shut up and help me.”  
“Nope. Hyung will do it.”  
Sungjae grinned again and patted Sanghyuk on the back as he walked away: “I’m on the merry-go-round shift with Namjoo tonight… have fun you two!”

Sanghyuk watched him leave with a glare, then grabbed his phone and began typing furiously:  
_“wtf sungjae?”_  
_“what? aren’t you happy to spend time with him? oh, and before you blame me like always, HE asked me to switch shifts…”_  
Sanghyuk stared at the screen for a moment and then put his phone away, heart racing a little bit faster.

“I hope you don’t mind you’ll have to put up with me tonight.” Hongbin smiled at him while taking the chocolates out of their boxes and setting them on display.  
“What? Not at all…” Sanghyuk assured him, hurrying over to help.

The booth where Sanghyuk and Hongbin were working that night was the one slightly out of the most crowded paths in the park, and so that meant that the people working there usually had a lot of time on their hands during the long winter night shifts.

“Didn’t get much sleep last night?” Sanghyuk chuckled as Hongbin yawned loudly.  
“Yeah… my roommate dragged me out to a group date and then I had lessons early this morning.” Hongbin grinned sheepishly.  
Sanghyuk’s face fell a little when he heard the word ‘date’: “Oh. Did you meet someone nice?”  
“What? Oh. Oh no, don’t misunderstand…” Hongbin’s eyes widened and he quickly shook his head: “I just went with Wonshik, he didn’t want to go alone. I… I wasn’t interested.”  
“You… you don’t have to explain, it’s ok.” Sanghyuk mumbled.  
“Yeah, well…” Hongbin grumbled, coughing awkwardly. He told Sanghyuk he would go for his break if he didn’t mind, and left.

Sanghyuk couldn’t suppress a grin, thinking back at Hongbin’s reply. He briefly wondered what he meant though: that he wasn’t interested in the girls at the date? or girls in general?  
“I guess it’d be just too much to wish for the latter, uh?” he murmured under his breath, rubbing his hands together to warm them.

Hongbin came back soon after, holding two steaming paper cups in his hands.  
He handed one to Sanghyuk with a smile: “Cider.” he explained, “Taekwoon-hyung gave them to me just now.”  
Sanghyuk grinned and wrapped his hands around his cup, the sweet and spiced smell wafting through the air: “Hmmm… thanks, hyung. This is exactly what I needed.”

Their peaceful moment didn't last for long though. A group of high school girls found their booth and kept giggling as they threw both of them shy glances. A few, bolder ones even asked them their phone numbers, which they politely refused to give.  
“Sorry ladies,” Hongbin told them with one of his dazzling smiles that sent the girls into a new fit of giggles, “we’re not allowed to give out our personal information to customers. Santa would get mad.”  
“What about after you get off work?” one of the girls asked.  
Without hesitation, Hongbin hooked his arm around Sanghyuk’s neck and pulled him close: “I’ve already made plans with Hyukkie here, sorry.”

The girls slowly left the booth with disappointed faces, and Sanghyuk felt his cheeks burn when he heard one of them whisper ‘ah, so jealous… they look so good together’.  
“Hyung… you can let go now.” he murmured. He was afraid that if Hongbin didn't let go of him soon, he’d probably grab his hand or do something just as embarrassing.  
“Ah… yeah. Sorry about that.”  
Hongbin slowly slid his arm from around Sanghyuk’s neck, giving his nape a squeeze before taking his hand off.

Their shift ended in relative quiet, with just a few families buying drinks and candy canes for their children.  
“It’s pretty chilly tonight.” Hongbin mumbled as he wrapped his thick scarf around his neck and over his mouth.  
“Yeah, it’s supposed to snow soon.” Sanghyuk replied as he pulled his beanie over his head and zipped his jacket closed.  
“It’d be nice if it snowed on Christmas Eve…”  
“Why so romantic, hyung? Do you have someone you want to spend Christmas with?” Sanghyuk joked. He felt really stupid, asking a question he dreaded the answer to.  
Hongbin stared at him for a moment, then grinned: “Who knows?”

He bumped shoulders with Sanghyuk as they walked to the exit of the park, hands stuffed into their pockets: “So, where are we going?”  
Sanghyuk blinked, bewildered: “Uh?”  
“Yeah, I told those girls I had plans with you, remember?”   
Hongbin winked, and Sanghyuk shook his head, grinning: “All I can afford tonight is coffee.”  
“Coffee? That actually sounds good. I have some of today’s cupcakes and a bag of gummy bears in my backpack. What do you say?”  
“Sounds like a plan. Lead the way.”

Sanghyuk felt a bit numb as he followed Hongbin past the train station, his hands getting all clammy in his pockets.  
What exactly was going on? Was he really going god-knows-where with his crush? How did that happen? Sanghyuk knew that wasn't a real date so he shouldn't feel so happy, but he just couldn't stop grinning.

“What’s so funny?” Hongbin asked him with a raise of his eyebrow.  
Sanghyuk felt himself flush: “Nothing, just thought of something funny.”  
Hongbin stared at him for a few, long instants, making Sanghyuk feel a little fidgety: “I’m not forcing you to come with me, am I?”  
“Don’t worry about it, I don’t mind spending time with you. And I can sleep in tomorrow.”

They stopped by a coffee shop to get something warm to drink: Sanghyuk got a latte, while Hongbin got an americano. To go, as they had plenty of sweets in their backpacks from work.  
Hongbin began walking again till he found a tiny park. He sat in one of the swings and began rummaging in his backpack, taking out two cupcakes with red and white icing on top, decorated with tiny snowflake-shaped sprinkles.  
“If I don’t get in a sugar coma by the time this job ends, I never will.” Sanghyuk declared before taking a bite out of his cupcake. Hongbin chuckled then bit into his, swinging his seat gently.

“We’ve never really talked or spent some time to get to know each other, have we.” Hongbin blurted out all of a sudden.   
Sanghyuk almost choked on his drink, and managed to hide it behind a little cough: “N-no. I… I didn't think you’d be interested in me, to be honest.”  
Hongbin turned to look at him, surprised: “Why not?”  
“Well…” _-because you’re so damn gorgeous and popular and I’m not, and just the fact that I’m here right now makes me feel incredibly light-headed_, Sanghyuk thought, but he just took another sip of his drink and said nothing instead.

He was still trying to find a suitable answer when Hongbin chuckled, breaking the awkward silence: “This feels like a date, doesn't it? Sorry I took you to such a place.”  
“A… date?” Sanghyuk’s eyes widened. A date with Hongbin? He could only wish…  
“Do you have someone you like, Hyuk?” Hongbin went on, not really waiting for Sanghyuk to reply.   
It felt like Hongbin wanted someone to vent to, and Sanghyuk felt his stomach cramp, he wasn't ready to listen to the boy he liked talking about someone else.  
“Someone… I like?”  
“There’s this person… I really like them.” Hongbin’s gaze was fixed on the ground in front of him as he talked, his hands curled up in his lap and trembling slightly. “I see them at work, they’re always so cheerful and fun to be with, and… I wanna confess. Maybe on Christmas Eve. That would be romantic, wouldn't it?”  
He turned around to give Sanghyuk a little smile, then jumped off the swing and stood: “But I’m afraid they’ll hate me when I do.”

Sanghyuk felt like someone had just punched him, multiple times. Hongbin, _his_ Hongbin liked someone, and wanted to confess in two days.  
“That’s… that’s great, hyung.” Sanghyuk forced a smile: “Why do you look so worried? I’m sure that whoever it is will accept your feelings. They’d be stupid not to, you’re amazing…”  
Hongbin opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he remained silent.  
“Thanks.” he said after a while, as they were walking back to the station.

\-------------------------------

“What the hell happened to you?” Sungjae asked the following day as Sanghyuk dropped the snowman plushies he was carrying for the third time.  
“He likes someone already.” Sanghyuk groaned in response, slumping over a counter. “He said they’re someone from work. Who do you think it is? Dasom-noona maybe?”  
“Minhyuk-hyung doesn’t think he likes girls.”  
“How does he know anyway? Then… what if it is Taekwoon-hyung?” Sanghyuk groaned again and snapped his head up, mouth twisting. “I’d never stand a chance against him.”

Sungjae gave him a weird look and shook his head: “How are you my friend? I can’t believe you’re so dense…”  
He headed out of the booth, slapping Sanghyuk’s ass as he walked past him: “By the way, you’re on shift with Hongbin-hyung again tonight. He owes me an awful lot of favours by now. Have fun.”  
Sanghyuk wriggled a little on the counter in frustration, then stood and took a deep breath, patting his cheeks: he couldn’t let Hongbin see him so distressed.

When the other boy arrived at the booth, Sanghyuk greeted him with a big smile.   
He liked him, he thought, he really liked him. He couldn’t help it, even if Hongbin already had someone he liked, just being with him made him very happy.  
“Looks like we won’t be as lucky as last night.” Hongbin joked as a steady stream of people began walking past their booth.  
“Yeah…” Sanghyuk grinned back, “at least it’ll keep us busy.”

Indeed, it was a busy night for them, as it was so close to Christmas and a lot of families brought their children to the park to meet Santa and play around.   
Tonight there were a lot of couples as well, and Sanghyuk’s heart ached a little thinking back to what Hongbin had told him the night before.

At the end of their shift, they closed up the booth and put the merchandise away before leaving.  
“Are you done?” Hongbin asked, breathing over his cold hands to warm them up.  
“Almost… there, done. Let’s go.” Sanghyuk pushed one last carton full of plushies into place on the top shelf and stepped down from the small folding ladder he was using.  
His foot slipped and with a small yelp he fell backwards. Instead of a hard and painful connection with the ground, as expected, Sanghyuk felt two strong arms around his middle, holding him up.

“You ok? Be careful.”  
Sanghyuk nodded and closed his eyes, a shiver running down his spine at the feeling of Hongbin’s warm breath against his ear.  
He got back on his feet, and with a pang of regret he felt the other boy’s hands slide off his body.  
“Thanks.” Sanghyuk murmured while avoiding looking at Hongbin, afraid that he’d notice the blush that had crept on his cheeks.

They walked in silence to the changing room, Sanghyuk still feeling a bit awkward from before.  
“Well… tomorrow’s the big day, uh?” he said, trying to change the mood. He so wanted to kick himself for what he was asking.  
“Yeah… about that… Hyuk…” Hongbin murmured, sounding shy all of a sudden.  
“Oh! Sungjae!” Sanghyuk exclaimed, darting forward as he saw his friend and leaving Hongbin behind.   
“Sorry hyung,” he mumbled, “good luck for tomorrow. Good night.”

“Go away.” Sungjae glared at him. “You were with Hongbin-hyung, were you not? Why did you call me? Go spend time with him, I can get home by myself.”  
“Shut up. He’s got more important things to think about. I… I don’t want to listen if he starts talking about it again.”  
Sungjae stared back at him for a few moments, then sighed: “You really don’t get it, do you.”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“Nothing, you pure soul. Let’s go home, tomorrow’s going to be a busy day.”

\-------------------------------

Christmas Eve indeed was a busy day at the park. Couples flooded the place since its opening, and the management usually took extra care with decorations, turning the place into a shining ball of Christmas lights and staff giving out complimentary chocolates to couples.

Sanghyuk sighed, for the millionth time that afternoon.  
“You’ll scare the customers away.” his co-worker scolded him with a frown on her pretty face.   
Sanghyuk just sighed harder before putting on a bright smile for the couple who had entered the souvenir shop.

Sanghyuk had found out, when he arrived at work that afternoon, that he was paired up with Hongbin once again.  
Instead of rejoicing, he felt his throat close up: the last thing he wanted on Christmas Eve was to listen to his crush being excited about his upcoming love story. He felt horrible as soon as those thoughts crossed his mind, but he decided that he’d have time later to be happy for him. For now though, he just wanted to stay away from him.  
So he called in a favour from Namjoo, who was working at the ice rink souvenir shop, and swapped places. 

The ice rink was almost on the opposite side of the park from Hongbin, Sanghyuk knew he wouldn’t risk bumping into him by chance this way.  
It was also a very popular place, and that meant he would be really busy, and have little time to think about the other boy. It didn’t work much.

Sanghyuk kept wondering if Hongbin had confessed already, if he got accepted or rejected, if he was nervous, how he should act around him the next time he saw him…  
His shift ended at ten p.m., and the air that night was crisp and made his skin tingle.

_Maybe it will snow for real_, he thought, mind going back to Hongbin.  
He shoved his hands in his pockets and quickly made his way to the changing room. He needed to get out of there soon, and go back home to sulk in peace.

“Hyuk-ah! Hey!”  
Sanghyuk turned around to the familiar voice, and saw Sungjae and Taekwoon.  
“What are you doing here? Why weren’t you answering your phone?” Sungjae asked, an annoyed tone in his voice.  
“I was late for work, I forgot it at home. Why?”  
“Hongbin was looking for you. He was worried.” Taekwoon told him, staring right at him.  
Sanghyuk shook his head: “Worried? Why should he be, he has… something more important to think about right now, hasn't he.”

“Hongbin-hyung said to meet him behind the shack. Now.”  
“Meet me? But…” Sanghyuk frowned, unable to understand what was going on.  
“Sungjae said you were dense, but I didn’t think you were _this_ dense.” Taekwoon murmured, still staring at him with a small smirk on his face.  
“Yeah, he’s a lost cause.” Sungjae sighed.  
“Listen here. He hasn't confessed yet.” Sungjae went on, talking slowly like one would do with a child. Sanghyuk punched him in the arm. “He’s waiting for you. So he can confess. It will only be the two of you. You. And him. And he will confess to the person he likes. Him. And you. Alone. Think you can get it now?”

Sanghyuk felt his face and ears burn as the meaning of Sungjae’s words finally hit him.  
“I… him… yeah… I-I need to go.” Sanghyuk spluttered then sprinted forward, leaving his two friends behind, grinning.

The shack, as the staff of the park called it, was in reality a warehouse for various equipment.  
Since it was apart from the park’s main attractions, no customer walked by, and so some staff used the place behind it as a meeting spot or as a place to relax a little.

Sanghyuk was slightly out of breath when he arrived at the building and he ran straight at the back, praying that Hongbin would still be there.  
“Hyung.” he called out, coming to a stop as he came face-to-face with him.

Hongbin was hunched on himself, hands in his pockets and face half-hidden behind his scarf, but he looked up immediately when he heard Sanghyuk call him.  
“You came.” he said with a smile, sounding relieved. “I thought you were avoiding me.”  
Sanghyuk looked sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head: “Yeah, sorry about that. I'm so dumb sometimes. I thought…”  
“It doesn't matter, you're here now. You... know why I asked you to meet, right?”  
Hongbin frowned a little, but Sanghyuk took a step closer, grabbing both ends of Hongbin's scarf and smiling: “You have a confession to make, right?”

Hongbin grinned and put his hands on Sanghyuk's hips: “Yes, I…”  
“You really like me? This is not a joke?”  
Hongbin cupped Sanghyuk's face with one hand and gently pecked his lips: “I really like you.”  
“That’s great.” Sanghyuk’s grin was wide on his face, “Because I really like you too.”

They leaned forward and kissed again, bumping noses and chuckling.  
“Too bad it didn’t snow after all.” Sanghyuk pouted as he looked up to the sky.  
“We can still hope for tomorrow. You don’t have any plans, do you?”  
Hongbin slid his hand in Sanghyuk’s, intertwining their fingers. 

Sanghyuk looked down at their hands and then back at Hongbin, smiling: “I didn’t until now.”


End file.
